A food blog of original, kitchen tested recipes with easy to follow instructions.

Eat!

Eating is a necessity. However, we choose what to eat. The choices we make reveal a great deal about us. The food you eat can tell quite a bit about your heritage, your family, your fears, your sense of adventure, your attitude toward yourself and others, and a myriad of other personal tidbits to anyone paying attention. Everything about eating is a glimpse into your soul.

I hope to reveal a little bit about myself to you through my food. I enjoy cooking. I enjoy eating. I find pleasure in bringing pleasure to others. I hope that by sharing my recipes I bring you a little bit of joy.

Cook my food. Feed it to the people you love.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

People tell me often that I am creative. So, I sat down and tried to think of how creativity works for me personally. Usually, I will get an idea-for a recipe or a poem or a painting-and it will float around in my head for a while. The idea will gather other ideas and snowball (or mushroom?) until I must purge myself by creating. Most often the creation pours out of me whole. To an outsider it must appear as if the end result just sprang out at that moment and therefore seems more spontaneous than it really is. But trust me, there are many threads floating around in here….

I don’t know where the inspiration for this recipe came from. It has just been floating around in my head for a week or so. I think I read (Facebook) about a maple pecan encrusted chicken dish, maybe? Who knows? Who cares? I did this. It tastes marvelous.

Pecans are plentiful in Florida. In fact, the land my grandparents lived on used to be a pecan grove. I remember picking up bushels of pecans when I was a child and we would spend the whole day shelling them. By the end of the day our hands would be black. I recall the day I was strong enough to crack two of them by squeezing them together in one hand. I was so proud of myself. I remember the bitter taste of the little paper hull inside. I remember pecan pies! Pecans always make me think of home.

Rinse the chicken in clean water and pat dry. Cut into serving size pieces for dinner or bite size pieces for appetizers.

Grind the pecans into fine crumbs.

Put the egg, water, and corn starch in a plastic Ziploc bag. Massage the bag until completely mixed. It may foam up, that is okay.

Combine all the other ingredients except the chicken in the other plastic bag. Shake this like crazy to mix.

Pre-heat the oven to 400°.

Place each piece of chicken into the egg mixture and toss to coat.

Then place each piece of chicken into the flour mixture and toss to coat.

Place the chicken in a single layer on the baking sheet.

Allow the chicken to bake for 20 minutes for dinner pieces or 15 minutes for appetizers.

Serve warm.

This can be made through step 7, placed in a single layer on a plate, wrapped in plastic, and stuck in the fridge up to 3 hours early. Take them out 30 minutes ahead of time and then just pop them in the oven when guests arrive.

Peel, core, and chop the pears. Boil them in the ½ cup of white wine. Simmer the pears until they are very soft and most of the wine is absorbed. This will take about 3-4 minutes. Remove the pears from the heat and allow them to cool. Strain the pears.

Put the pears and all the other ingredients except the oil and the S&P into the blender and pulse until the mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds.

With the blender running, SLOWLY pour the olive oil in so the dressing will emulsify. Salt & pepper to taste.

This can be made ahead, placed in an airtight container, and stored in the fridge for up to a week. Shake well before serving.

You can use different fruits for different flavors. Peaches, a cup of strawberries, apricots, apples, or a cup of raspberries would also work. If using berries (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries) mash them up in the wine after boiling them. Strain the wine and use the wine rather than the berries themselves.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

These croutons are so much better for you than the boxed, processed mess you buy in the store. They are baked, not fried and they contain no partially hydrogenated soybean oil or no soy lecithin. Although I do enjoy some good soy lecithin.

This salad is most often attributed to Caesar Cardini, an Italian-Mexican (Could there be a better combination??) He lived part of the time in California but worked in Tijuana to avoid Prohibition. (Okay, a pro-alcohol, Italian-Mexican-Can this guy get any better????)

The original recipe didn't contain anchovies, but I don't care. I like anchovies.

Put all the ingredients except the oil & the S&P into the blender and blend until the mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds.

With the blender running, SLOWLY pour the olive oil in so the dressing will emulsify.

Salt & pepper to taste.

This can be made ahead, placed in an airtight container, and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Stir again before using to make a wonderful Caesar Salad.

* There is a slight risk of salmonella from using raw eggs. If you prefer you can substitute 2 tablespoons of GOOD mayo for the eggs. However, unless you or your guests are pregnant, children under the age of 10, or have a compromised immune system, I’d use the eggs.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Florida is on fire right now. As of this morning, 250 wild fires raged throughout the state. For weeks now smoke has hung heavy in the air. This happens every year. Wildfires are so common, in fact, that a species of pine tree found here, the Marsh Pine, has evolved to only release its seeds when burned.

All this smoke has made me think of grilling. I know. I’m weird like that.

﻿

Few things are more satisfying than food on a stick

Servings: 4-6Time: Prep: 15 minutes; Marinade time: 2-6 hours; Cook: 40 minutesHardware: A grill, measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board, a zester, a gallon Ziplock bag, a large glass bowl, a small plastic container with a lid, a pot, a paper towel, skewers, tongs, an old dish rag, a grill, a microwave, a brush, 2 plates

Marinade

¾ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

¼ cup lemon juice and the zest of one lemon

¼ cup limejuice and the zest of one lime

1 cup of orange juice

1 green onion, chopped

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried cilantro

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Shish Kabobs

1 pound beef (sirloin, top sirloin, filet)

10 baby potatoes

1 medium onion

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

10 large white mushrooms

10-15 cherry tomatoes

cooking spray

oil for the grill

If you are using bamboo skewers soak them in water for 30 minutes. This will prevent them from burning. Weight them down in the sink with a plate.

Cut the meat into bite size chunks. Try to make the chunks the same size so that they will cook evenly.

In a large glass bowl, mix all of the marinade ingredients. Reserve ¼ cup of the marinade. Store it in the fridge in the plastic container. Put the steak in the Ziploc. Pour the remaining marinade in the bag too. Place that in the fridge. (I always put this in a bowl, bag and all, because sometimes those zippers unzip. Not fun.) Marinate the steak from 2-6 hours, turning the bag over every once in a while.

Don’t marinate the meat for too long or it will become mushy.

Wash the potatoes and boil them for 10ish minutes. They should be completely cooked, but still firm enough to be skewered with out falling apart. Drain them.

Remove the steak from the fridge and allow it to sit out for 30 minutes. This allows it to return to room temperature and helps everything cook evenly.

While the meat is resting wash and prep the veggies. Remove the stems from the mushrooms. (Chop these up and toss them in a salad.) Seed the peppers and remove the white ribs. Cut the peppers and onions into 1-1 ½ inch squares.

Spray the skewers with cooking spray.

Drain the steak and pat dry. Discard the used marinade.

Create the kabobs by skewering the meat and veggies.

Vary the order that you add the ingredients. I like to put the tomatoes on the ends so that they don’t over cook and fall off. Try to put the potatoes toward the center to make sure that they are completely cooked.

Spray the kabobs with cooking spray.

Warm the reserved marinade in the microwave.

Prepare the grill by using the old rag and tongs to coat the grill with oil. This will ensure that the kabobs don’t stick and that you get those groovy grill marks.

Start the fire. You should grill the kabobs on an uncovered grill over direct flames. Grill for them for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating ¼ turn every few minutes. Cook 10 minutes for rare, 12 for medium rare.

Remove the kabobs from the grill to a clean plate. Brush all the kabobs with the warm reserved marinade. Allow them to rest for 5 minutes.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

The history of olives and that of humans are intertwined. The olive tree is the oldest fruit tree known to man. We have cultivated them for at least 6,000 years. The trees themselves are extremely long lived, some of them growing for 1,000 years. Olives were used for everything: lamp fuel, lubrication, food, and wood. They were so useful that they became sacred. Athena won the right to be the patron of Athens by giving the people the gift of the world's first olive tree. Odysseus blinded the Cyclops with an olive branch and thus avoided being eaten. During the ancient Olympics the winners were rewarded with a crown of olive leaves. Noah realized that the great flood waters were receding when a dove returned to the ark with an olive branch. God sent the dove to make peace with humans and this is why “extending the olive branch” means making peace to this day.

So tonight, I offer you a meal featuring this sacred fruit. Peace. Enjoy.

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About Me

I am a teacher living in Florida. I love teaching and I also love to cook. This blog combines those two loves. My recipes are very detailed because I am not making any assumptions about my readers' cooking experience. I want my blog to encourage even new cooks to be brave in the kitchen.